MS 802 comprises correspondence, reports, conference papers, research material and newspaper and journal articles, mainly relating to Coomb's involvement with the Aboriginal community. Also included are papers relating to the Australian Council for the Arts, personal papers, newspaper clippings, photographs, files of biographical material and correspondence with Christina Stead (93 boxes, 5 cartons).
Economist, public servant and human rights worker. Herbert Cole Coombs was born in Kalamunda, Western Australia, in 1906 and educated at Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia. In 1933 he was awarded a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics with a thesis on central banking. Coombs was appointed governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, 1960-1968; chairman of the Australian Council for the Arts, 1968-1974; chancellor of the Australian National University, 1968-1976; chairman of the Australian Council for Aboriginal Affairs, 1968-1976; consultant to the prime minister, 1972-1975; and, visiting fellow in the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, 1976-1996. Coombs died in Sydney in 1997.
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